Aggression Kiteboarding Team Rider Peter Knof killing it on the flats in Cabarete. Video sponsored by AirBoundApparel.com go check them out

Dim lights

We woke up around 7am to the sounds of our amazing captain, Gigi, walking around getting ready to leave for a week in the Northern BVI’s.  The wind report is for 20 plus knots so we wanted to get out early and get a full day of riding at Eustatia Sound.  Just before leaving we luckily noticed the dinghy only had a 2.5 gallon tank for 1 week of chasing kiters, snorkeling, ferrying people ashore, etc. so we ran over to the exchange it for a 6.5 gallon tank.  What a great idea this turned out to be as other dinghies ran out midweek and had to search for gas in the middle of nowhere.

8:15am, the last of the crew still had not shown up so we take a vote and decide to shove off toward North South.  It was a pretty rough motor straight into the wind with 20 plus knots of wind and not all the crew kept breakfast down, but I guess to have good wind for kiteboarding, you will also have waves.

Saba Rock was a welcomed sight for our first stop in North sound.  After an amazing lunch, everyone headed up to Eustatia Island in the Dinghies to get our first kite session in.  Wind was powered 9m for me, what a great start!  Most riders stayed in Eustatia sound throwing down freestyle tricks in front of the crowd and boats that had stopped to watch the show.  I few of us headed upwind in search of waves.  After a long tack over to Necker Island I found a few right-handers on the backside of Necker.  A few hours later when I kited back to Eustatia sound, pretty much every kiter on the trip was on the water while the non kiters where either relaxing on the beach, parting on the boats, or snorkeling the reef just off Eustatia Island.

By nightfall, I for one was tired, hungry, and very content with another great day in the BVIs.  Dinner party was on Saba Rock and with the live reggae band, the party rocked on until the early hours of the morning.

There are few pictures of this first full day on the catamarans because everyone was having so much fun in this action packed day that we all forgot to stop and take pictures.

The wind started blowing just after a very late breakfast and several riders including Yuri Zoon dared the tough launch to put on a show for the crowds.  What a great start to a kite trip.  Only a few hours of sunlight since arriving and kites are up.  With Laurel Eastman commentating on the microphone and some of the best riders in the world include 9 time world champion Kristin Boese I was 100% sure that this week will be the best kiteboarding trip of my life.

I unfortunately spend the afternoon with the BVI Police filling out police report and answering hundreds of questions about the theft of my IPhone 4 from my room while we were eating breakfast out.  Long, long story short, the management at Nanny Cay, the local Police and everyone was extremely helpful and 3 hours later my IPhone was located and a suspect, local cleaning woman, was arrested.  Unfortunately the phone was taken as evidence and for sure I would be 100% unplugged for the entire week.  BEST thing ever!!!!!!!  So glad my IPhone was stolen and I had a true week vacation from life.  In the end the suspect was convicted and my IPhone returned the day before leaving BVI’s.  Hats off to the constipales who did their job very well!!!

Saturday evening the Cabarete Crew made their way over to Road Town, bought provisions for the boats (beer, water, snacks and breakfast makings, did I mention beer?) and met up with all the participates in the BVI Kite Jam at a wonderful kick off party right at the Marina.  One of the great things about the BVI Kite Jam was that you could party as much or as little as you wanted.  With the boats always a 3-minute walk or dinghy ride away, everyone got just want they wanted on the social scene.

I honestly can’t tell you how long the party went on for but for sure things were still happening after midnight when we turned it.  Now just a handful of hours of sleep on the boat, and the last night with shore power, AC, etc. and off to North Sound. Things are about to get really exciting for sure!!!

The Happy Kite Jam Crew at the check in greeting participants and giving out the cool swag!!!

7am Friday morning the alarm wakes my beautiful girlfriend Dasha and myself up to the start of this epic adventure.  The first job, get 5 Cabarete transplants, Laurel Eastman, Pete Richardson, Sean Hibbs, Dasha Dugina and myself with tons of gear to the BVI’s.  After a few hours of packing the troops all meet up in front of Cabarete Real Estate Office in Cabarete, Dominican Republic and start loading huge board bags, busting at the seams with toys for the trip, on top of a very old, rough looking mini van taxi for the 1.5 hour winding road over the mountains to the Santiago airport.  This is a great warm up for a week on a sailboat.  If you don’t get carsick going to Santiago from Cabarete for sure you will be fine on a 38-foot catamaran in the BVI’s.

“Did anyone double check the straps and knots the driver used to tie our gear to the roof?”  First stop 15 minutes into the trip to retie the roof straps and ensure our gear gets to the airport with us.  Second stop, pee break/ work on the taxi, which now smells like propane and won’t start.  After a few more bathroom breaks and a drink breaks we arrive at STI airport ready to fly!!!

Remarkably we all get our gear checked with no extra baggage fees.  The kite gods are with us and for sure this will be the best trip ever!!  After a short flight to Puerto Rico we met up with Pete Cabrinha and Shannon Best.  A few hours later and some slight flight confusion (Dasha and myself some how ended up on a flight 1.5 hours after the rest of the crew and Pete’s kite bags where lost) we all arrived safely at Nanny Cay Maria and Resort on Tortola just in time for the welcome dinner and party put on by BVI Kite Jam and the BVI tourism board.  We had great food, great people and a wonderful start to the event. I couldn’t wait to wake up the next day and see what everything looks like since we arrived in the dark.

Over the next week I will attempt to take you through what myself and I am sure most participates in the 2011 BVI Kite Jam would call the best kiteboarding trip ever. With 6 days of solid winds, 2.5 meter swells, amazing food, crystal clear Caribbean water, surfing, snorkeling, rocking theme parties, large catamarans, and tons of wonderful people it will be difficult to do this week justice with words and pictures alone. But for those of you who couldn’t share this time with us, I will do my best. Enjoy as we all did!!!

GS, Aggression Kiteboards

Aggression Kiteboards team riders Peter Knof, Jens Knof, Dasha Dugina and GS as well as 25 other locals from Cabarete, Dominica Republic piled into a small bus for the 7 hour drive (with a few detours) to Punta Cana. Kite Club’s owner John Dodds put on this event.

All around this was an amazing weekend for everyone. When the wind was a no show or a bit light the participants competed in team paddleboard races as well as wakeboarding, snorkeling, sun tanning on the beautiful white beaches of Punta Cana and all sorts of other shenanigans.

The beautiful Dasha Dugina volunteered to be the model for the 2011 Aggression Kiteboards and in 15 minutes she skillfully posed to get us some amazing shots for this year. We might have to do a team rider calendar for 2012. What do you think?

That is right. We will be at he event and we will have a fleet of demo boards to check out.  Be sure to check out the event at www.bvikitejam.com

We will be posting updates from the event including photos and rider reviews on our boards!